Lifetime
by FckNew52
Summary: Losing loved ones is hard.


35 years, 7 months.

The length of time they had been together.

33 years, 2 months.

The length of time they had been married.

And today she had buried that man.

He had passed away during his sleep, a peaceful end for a man who had spent his entire lifetime fighting so that others can enjoy theirs.

Many had attended the funeral. Heroes, past and present had come to pay respects to a man who helped lay down the foundations on which they were now entrusted with. A man who stood against all the evil the universe could throw at him, and didn't bat an eye.

A man…

That was he was at the end of the day, a mortal man. And no matter how brave and fearless he was, time would always be his greatest enemy. He had said this to her once, 'The List' as it was once known. The three reasons why they couldn't be together.

She had dismissed it at the time but now she realized what he meant, what he was warning her against. And now she was feeling it. A hole in her heart that would never be filled again.

She had not cried at the burial, she felt she should be strong. Strong for their children, to be the pillar of strength they needed in this time.

Besides, she would cry later. She had a long time left yet to mourn.

Realising where her thoughts were taking her, she quickly shook her head and made the long journey up to her room, their room.

She passed through the library and came to a stop in front of one of the sofas. A flood of memories assaulted her mind and she couldn't help the sob that forced its way out from her.

This was where she would wait for him to come home from patrol and then, when he had effectively retired, where they would spend their nights in front of the fire waiting for their children to come home. Sometimes they would read, other times they would just talk.

And then sometimes they would get a little too frisky and make love. Forcing down the blush that crept onto her face, she still was adamant that their first child was conceived on this couch. At least for their last two, they had the decency, and control, to keep it to the bedroom.

Brushing a hand over one of the cushions, she made her way through the door and into the main lobby. Only a few hours ago, it was full of friends celebrating a life. Now it was host to two, herself and their eldest daughter.

''Alexia, what are you still doing her?'' She asked softly, walking up to her and cradling her face bring it slowly upward. She was startled to see tears flowing down her face.

"Mum…I was just…reminiscing and..'' She burst into tears and grabbed her mother for all that was worth. ''I miss him so much mum…I ju-, I just wasn't ready for him to go."

"Oh my baby girl, shhh, I know, I know." Diana replied, stroking her daughter's hair.

They stayed a few minutes like this, Diana softly stroking her daughter's hair whilst Alexia's crying gradually died down.

"Remember that time when I had stayed out all night with my friends?'' Alexia asked. ''And I came home early morning and Dad nearly blew up? I remember him telling me that I was grounded for 3 years, chores for the rest of my life and all my friends would be getting a personal visit from Batman."

"And then you came down, literally picked him up, and carried him back upstairs, all the while he was still telling me how I was going to be punished"

Diana grinned at the memory. "I do remember. When I got him back to our bedroom, he started telling me what he was going to do to me for aiding you!"

"In fact, I do believe a certain someone still owes me for that little favour..?"

Alexia groaned. "Trust you to still remember that tiny, unimportant detail."

Still smiling, Diana took Alexias face in her hands once more, smoothing away the tears. "Are you going to be alright my little sun and stars?" She asked.

"I will be mum, I will be. The better question is, will you be alright?"

The question shot through Diana. Would she be ok? Could she cope living here while being surrounded by memories of Bruce?

But they were good memories, and that was the important thing. Something to build upon and to move forward with.

"Yes, in time" She answered. "I have a lot to face but I know your father is still with me, no doubt telling me how I could do things better of course."

"I'm glad Mum. Now, I should get to bed, there is a lot to do tomorrow with Wayne Enterprises. There's going to be quite the chaos in the next few weeks so Sophie and me will need to do quite a bit of work to placate some board members."

"But do not hesitate to call me, you understand oh stubborn mother of mine?"

Diana mock saluted. "Yes ma'am"

"Good, now try to get some sleep mum, please?"

"I will" She replied softly. "Goodnight Alexia".

As Diana climbed up to the stairs, more memories passed by her.

The time when she was pregnant with their second child and Bruce flew down the stairs in a panic and in the process, completely forgetting about her. It was a timely save by Alfred who reminded Bruce of just who he was forgetting that saved him a world of pain.

Then there was the "International Wayne Bannister Sliding Competition" which their son had cooked up and had invited friends from the league to participate in. The resulting bruises had earned a young Thomas a strict word of warning. It also crowned the first, and last, winner. A very jubilant John Grayson who never let his older brother live it down.

Finally she made it to their bedroom and she froze. This was it, the final hurdle. The room she had shared for over 30 years was suddenly going to be empty. Gently she creaked the door open and slipped inside. Closing the door, she stood and stared.

Everything was the same, almost like he was still around and would walk in any moment now. His side still held his reading glasses, old age had forced them on him and he had been very reluctant to wear them. There was the book he had nearly finished. In typical Bruce form it was a paper looking into experimental Jet fuel that he was considering implementing into the BatWing.

And there, on the bedpost, hung his bathrobe. Black, of course, and with a golden 'W' embroidered onto the left breast. She moved round and took the gown into her hands and brought it to her face. Inhaling, she found the familiar scent of Bruce.

Finally she looked to their bed. Slipping off her black dress, she slipped under the covers and brought the bathrobe to her chest, clutching it as she looked over to Bruce's side.

Then the tears came and it all hit her. No longer would Bruce be there. She wouldn't be able to chastise him after a new scar appeared form patrol. She couldn't beat him at a game of chess. She couldn't look at him as he read the newspaper over breakfast. She couldn't –

The tears flowed now, freely. She couldn't stop them, didn't want to stop them. Rolling over onto her back she stared at the ceiling, as thoughts of Bruce and their time together rushed through her.

There were good ones and there were bad ones but all amounted to one thing. They were happy, and so very much in love.

Bringing her hand to her face, she brought up her ring finger to her lips and gave her wedding ring a soft kiss.

"I will always love you Bruce Wayne, you hear me?" She softly whispered. "I will always, always love you and I know you will always love me. We were great together and I will always cherish what we had."

"Thank you, for letting me into your life. Thank you, for our three beautiful children. Just…thank you"

Putting her hand down, she looked to her right again.

"Wait for me Bruce. I don't know how long I will be, but wait for me. And we will be together one, final time."

* * *

Sorry for the angst :) When life tries to put you down, getting up is so damn hard. Had to get this story off my chest, feel kinda better now.

I'll try and keep it cheerier next time...and a lot more snarky :)


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